The Frog and the Swan
by shattered rainbow
Summary: A young prince-turned-frog peacefully lives on the lake when he is unexpectedly joined by someone else cursed into an animal. A swan, to be exact. But what happens when the cursed don't want to break their curses, and when curses aren't cast correctly?
1. Prologue, Part I

**Author's Note: **First of all, I'd like to thank anyone who has graced this story with their presence. My deepest thanks. Secondly, I rather dislike my summary and my title. If you happen to come up with any better suggestions, drop me a line. I'll be sure to give you credit if you come up with something I like. Thanks, and enjoy!

**Prologue, Part I**

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not so very far from here, there lived a very selfish prince. This prince was greedy, uncouth, snobbish, and ungrateful in every possible manner to everyone from his subjects to his royal parents, the king and queen. There wasn't a single person in the entire land that could get through to him. Anyone who tried to tell him to be kinder, or be more polite, or at least to pretend he appreciated _anything_, was rudely escorted from the prince's chambers by his obedient and subservient bodyguard.

As the prince grew, so did his unthankful and loveless attitude. But what also grew with the prince's rotten attitude was his loneliness. He was so unkind to those around him that early on he found himself with no friends, and hardly anyone would say a kind word to him. Although the prince began to realize why it was that no one liked him, instead of causing him to change his ways, it only fueled his resentment. By the time he was ten years old, he was seen to no one but a few servants who severely wished they could be doing something other that waiting on the sullen prince.

The prince was so lonely that he began to wish he could run away somewhere else where people would like him. He would often ride through the countryside to try to clear his head. Sometimes he dreamt that he would meet someone nice who didn't know he was the selfish prince, and then he could have somebody to be friends with. He wished and dreamed, but it never happened. Each time he encountered someone his own age, they always told him he was being bossy, or was mean, or didn't play by the rules. The prince soon gave up, thinking he must be cursed to be friendless forever.

One day, after wandering especially far from home, he happened upon a lake. The lake was so achingly beautiful, and the prince was so tired from his ride, which had taken the better part of the day, that he decided he would stop by the lake to rest. There wasn't a village or hamlet for miles.

It wasn't long, however, until the prince discovered that while a lake can appear beautiful, it is not always comfortable. Mosquitoes were biting him everywhere, his boots were muddy, and the setting sun glared off the water right into his eyes. He began to spin around, swatting at the mosquitoes and cursing loudly at them, but only managed to slip and fall in the mud. The prince was so enraged that he began to curse everyone and everything he knew, from his parents and the royal subjects at court, to the children who wouldn't play with him, right down to the very lake on whose shores he was now sprawled. He screamed it out to the ends of the earth, flailing his arms in the mud and kicking his feet in the puddles. He screamed so loudly, he spooked away all the birds on the lake. He screamed so loudly, the crickets stopped chirping. He screamed so loudly that the frogs stopped croaking. And most importantly, he screamed so loudly, his horse took off at a gallop back to the castle, leaving the wet and grumpy prince on the lake to face the coming night. Alone.


	2. Prologue, Part II

**Prologue, Part II**

The next morning the prince sat up and stretched, arching his back and yawning widely. The lake was wide and beautiful; the rising sun's rays shone from behind the prince's back, warming him and glancing off the water's surface. The lake seemed almost to be glowing. All around the prince the bulrushes swayed gently in the wind and subtle ripples emanated from them. A flock of ducks took flight from the lake's surface, showering the prince in gem-like droplets. Somewhere, a bird was singing sweetly, hoping to attract a mate. The clouds were gilded by the rising sun and the lake shone like liquid gold. The wind gently caressed the water and the brush. The land and sky were in love with each other.

All of this, however, was lost on the prince. His heart was full of anger. Without a horse, home was days away, and that was one hike the prince was loathe to make. He supposed he'd have to find the nearest village and either get a horse there or somehow contact the palace and have someone come fetch him. The prince was humiliated by the mere thought of the latter option, but deep down he knew he would have to resort to it. Unless there was someone who was willing to give away a horse, he'd have to write. He had left his moneybag on his saddle.

However, before the prince could properly swallow his pride and make the trek to the village, he noticed that there was a man approaching him from over the hillside. The man had red hair and an equally vivid beard and mustache. His clothes were unimpressive, but the prince could tell that they were finely tailored; the man was either very rich or a noble.

The prince suddenly became aware of his own clothing. He was filthy; his once fine garments were caked in mud and his hair was greasy and uncombed. Once again his anger began to boil over. Here he was, the prince, covered in dirt and sweat! He was second only to the king in terms of power. He couldn't stand someone below him looking so much finer than he did. The prince's heart started racing in anger, and his face grew ruddy and livid.

The man reached the prince, swept back his cloak and bowed deeply. "Your majesty, I presume?" he intoned, his prominent nose pointed at the ground.

"And who are you?" demanded the prince, already feeling one-upped because the stranger knew his identity when he did not know who the stranger was.

The stranger straightened up, raising himself to his full height, which was well beyond the prince's. "Julius, my dear boy. I'm a friend of your uncle's. And you might try to be a bit more appreciative of those who are about to save you from being stranded indefinitely…lest you desire to remain so, of course."

"Are you threatening me?" said the prince. "I'll have you know, I knew exactly how I was going to get home without your help…I could have you severely punished for that!"

The stranger looked sky-ward, as though pleading with the heaven's for patience. "My dear boy, do I look like I am threatening you?" he asked, not unkindly. "Come, everyone must accept help from time to time." With a sweep of his cloak, the stranger turned and walked away from the lake. The prince remained rooted on the spot, an odd mixture of shock and repulsion running through his body. Who dared speak to him that way?

"Well, are you coming boy? Or would you rather stay here?" the stranger chuckled, gesturing to the lake. "Come now, your family will be worried."

An entire lifetime of hate and anger began to course through the prince's veins. His unloving parents, the hateful children, even the very earth hated him! And he hated everything back! He felt a boiling rage inside of him. "My family?" he shouted, "Worried? Them- worried about me! As far as I care, I don't have a family! All they ever do is complain about me! Telling me how worthless I am!" The prince screamed so loudly he felt his voice would break. "I hate every one of them! I hate everyone at court, I hate everyone in the countryside, I hate the kingdom! I hate the earth!"

"Calm down, my boy, surely you don't. Surely you're just angry now-"

"No! I'm _always_ angry!"

"You've always been angry?" the stranger asked a bit skeptically.

"Yes!" shouted the prince, pacing back and forth on the lake shore, flailing his arms and stomping his feet. "They only care about themselves, no one gives a damn about me! Why do you think they let me wander off anywhere I damn well please? It's because they wouldn't care if I lived or died, that's why! I'd rather be _anywhere _than near them!"

The stranger cocked one eyebrow, staring at the prince disgustedly. "All they care about is themselves, eh?" he asked, slowly approaching the prince. "So, did I only care about myself when I rode out here searching for you in the middle of the night? Hmm? Did your family only care for themselves all those years when the slaved away, trying to show they loved you, trying to care for you, when all you did was chase them away with lies, taunts and greediness? Dear prince, I've known you longer than just today. You have taken and taken all your life, but what have you given?" The stranger was only inches away from the prince now, his shadow eclipsing the boy. "I must admit, you are very good at laying the blame, so you'll probably lay the blame for this on me…but I want to give you some time to _think_." The prince backed away, now fearful of the red-headed stranger. "And during this time, you can really, really_ think_ about whose fault this is, and _think_ about something other than your own troubles. Think about how you've pushed everyone away from you your entire life, and how you managed to push yourself so far away you think they pushed you." The stranger paused, and gazed around at the lake, now aglow in the morning light. "This is such a lovely lake. Perhaps you might think about that for a while."

The prince, now terrified of the stranger, continued to back away from him while he was talking. Taking one last step, he slipped on the muddy banks of the lake, and plunged into the water. The prince thrashed and flailed—the water surrounded him, he didn't know which way was up. Shafts of sunlight piercing water, rushing up his throat, lungs. His arm found the surface—he felt like the world was sideways, his arm thrusting into air on his left side. Gasping, he spluttered up from the water, blinking the gritty water from his eyes.

The world was somehow different here. He looked around for the stranger, but only saw great bushes and gigantic trees. Had he somehow resurfaced on the other side of the lake? There were boulders scattered everywhere among scraggly bushes and flowers as big as dinner plates. He began to grow fearful again, and slowly raised his head upward. And upward, and upward. And so high above him, high enough it seemed he could pluck the sun out of the sky, stood Julius, the stranger, suddenly a giant.

The prince stood frozen in fear as the stranger bent down and lay on his belly, flattening the enormous trees, trees that the prince could now see were only bulrushes, and bushes he could now see were only clumps of grass. He lay like that, now at eye level with the prince, and softly said, "Look in the water, your highness. See what your selfishness has made you."

Quaking with fear, the prince slowly rotated, hating to turn his back on the giant Julius, but also possessed with a sickening curiosity. And reflected in the water was not a prince, not even a muddy little boy. Reflected there was a small, green frog.

Julius stood, rising to what seemed like miles above the prince. "Your parents will fear for you, of course," he boomed, readjusting his cloak around his shoulders, and the prince cowered at the might of that voice. "but have no fear," Julius continued, "for I will help ensure your safety. I know this lake, and it is a calm one. There are few predators." The prince shivered and wondered at the thought. He hadn't even considered predators. "I will also grant you one boon. Call on me when you need it. But take care," Julius cautioned, bending down and scooping up the prince in his hand, "you may be like this for a long time. Use it wisely."

"I- I don't understand," whimpered the prince, vaguely surprised that he still had a voice. "Why are you doing this?"

Julius smiled. "Don't take it as an unkindness, boy. It may be a curse, but this one is for the better. Learn to _love_, my prince. Remember what I said earlier. You will be missed, but there will be great rejoicing upon your return."

"You don't make sense!" cried the prince. "Curses are punishments, not rewards."

"But my dear boy," chuckled Julius, "curses are not forever. If they were truly meant as punishments, why then can they always be broken?" Julius smiled down at the prince. "You will hate me for a very long time, I know. But in the end, you will see. I give you this time of solitude to _think_." Julius gazed around thoughtfully. "As I said before, this is a very beautiful lake."

The prince shook with his anger. He wanted to hurt the man, kick him, punch him, bite him, anything, but as much as he wanted this, he knew he couldn't. Frogs are not very dangerous creatures, by nature.

He'd had enough. He turned around and tried to spring away, and there was a moment when Julius struggled to snatch him out of the air and the prince struggled to escape, but in the end Julius got a firm hold on him. "Oh, prince!" he chuckled, clutching his heart with his free hand, "you gave me quite a scare. You mustn't leave yet. There's still something you don't know!" The prince glared at the man with all his might, trapped in his fist. "You see, I mentioned earlier there are always ways to break curses. Wouldn't you like to know how to break yours?" The prince, though livid, relaxed slightly in Julius's hand. "Alright then," said Julius, "now remember this, or you'll be stuck as a frog forever. To break your curse you must learn to love, and also learn to let someone love you in return. If you have done that, the next part should be easy. A maiden must be willing to kiss you, and if she does, you will turn into a human again."

"How on earth am I supposed to do that if I'm a frog?" said the prince.

Julius gently placed the prince on the lake shore. "You may leave the lake, but be warned, the world is not as kind to frogs as you will find here. The nearest town is that way," he said, pointing toward the east, "if that at all interests you. Oh, and I mentioned earlier you get one boon…that boon cannot be anything to assist you breaking your curse. You must do that on your own." The prince was speechless as Julius stood and turned to leave. "Oh yes," he said, turning around, "I may visit you from time to time, just to check on you. And I will always come when you call." And with that, Julius turned his back and left the prince alone and afraid on the shores of the beautiful lake…stranded indefinitely.


	3. Interlude

**Interlude**

Ten, long years passed by William. Yes, that was the prince's name. William. He'd never really thought about it before, but now he often found himself pondering that. He pondered a lot of things now. His name was William. William. Will-iam.

Julius, the stranger, the magician, wizard, whatever you wanted to call him, was right, as it turned out. William had hated him for years and years; in fact, he still hated him some. Sometimes when he looked down at his wrinkly, webbed feet, or spied his warty green face reflected on the lake, he felt that hate boiling in him.

But William remembered Julius's words. _Learn to love_, he'd said. At first William had treated that advice with disdain. He'd tried getting to the village Julius had told him about, but it was miles away across barren and rocky roads, where eagles and cats could see him, were they could try to eat him.

He'd never made it there like that.

One time, a weary traveler happened upon the lake. William watched from the reeds as the man wearily climbed off his horse and came to the lake, plashing water over his sweaty brow and then as the man watered his horse and refilled his canteen. As the horse drank, the prince stealthily climbed up one of its legs and settled himself in the saddle bag. When the man had finished at the lake, he remounted his horse, bringing both himself and the prince to the village.

The village was rough, large, and formidable. The prince didn't know where to turn, and was almost stepped on several times. A girl saw him, and she screamed. He never even summoned the courage to say anything to anyone. How in the world could he get any of the village girls to kiss him? They were horrified by him when he was silent, never mind when he spoke.

He was in that village for two days, and in the end he stuck close to that traveler who had mentioned he'd be going back the same way he came. At the end of the two days the prince hitched a ride on the same horse, leaping off when he was close to the lake, and making the daunting, yet humbling trek from the road back to the lake.

And that was all. From that point on, the prince began to forget that he was a prince, and remembered that he was William.

He learned to love the lake. He learned to love the singing of the birds and the humming of the crickets and the whispering of the bulrushes. He learned to love the beauty of the filtered underwater light playing off the scales of a fish. He learned to love the stars, and the moon, and the sun, and the clouds. He learned to love the wind and the rain. He learned to love the tree-sized bulrushes and the bush-sized grass and the dinner plate-sized flowers.

But William was still lonely. He learned to sing to himself, a low croaking sort of gasp that all frogs make. When he heard the croaking of the other frogs, he heard not ribbits, but a steady chant of Will-iam, Will-iam, Will-iam. The frogs did not speak as he did. Nor did the birds, or the insects, or the fish. They were all dumb animals, and he was still a human. He found no company with them.

Julius may have been right, but he'd been a fool. People hardly ever came by this lake, and when they did it was only briefly. There was never time to speak with a girl, to explain, to convince her to have pity and to grant him that one favor which would change him back to human. William had given up. He wasn't even sure he wanted to be human again. He feared he'd forgotten how.

After a year or so, William stopped trying to break his curse.

The Prince was dead. Only William the frog was left.

Ten years passed this way and William resigned himself to a lifetime with his beautiful lake. Alone.

But one day, the sun rose…and there was a swan.


	4. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hello again, everyone! So it's been… well, it's been a very long time since I've updated this. I'd just like to say that it never really died or anything, I just stopped writing it. I'm a notoriously bad updater so I'm just making a disclaimer here and now that I can't guarantee I'll ever complete this. I mean, let's be realistic. I uploaded the first three chapters in one day almost exactly two years ago… don't be surprised if it's another two years until I update again. That's not to say I don't want you to read it… just don't get your hopes up. Although I will say that reviews inspire me . It helps to _know_ that somebody cares.

I've made some minor edits to the first few chapters, but nothing major changed. But as they're not so long it couldn't hurt you to give them another look, and refresh your memory while you're at it! At any rate, I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 1**

It was early evening, the sky a dusky purple against the silhouettes of rustling bulrushes. Sometimes William felt that evenings like these were what he lived for. The warm leftover heat radiating from the stone to his feet. The sun staining the lake gold. Distant songbirds trilling. It was so beautiful that sometimes he had no regrets. It was at times like these that he felt at peace with himself.

William was sitting on top of his favorite rock, croaking softly to himself. He sang to keep himself company, but over the years he'd forgotten the words to the songs he knew. And his human voice disturbed him. He liked to listen to the other frogs sing but when he used his voice they all became quiet. So now he only croaked, like them. It was good to belong.

So it was strange when all the other frogs suddenly stopped croaking. William automatically stopped too. Usually when this happened it meant danger. William strained his ears, but calmed once her heard the clop of horse's hooves. Travelers often came to the lake to rest or get water, and unconcerned, William resumed his song. The hooves continued to come closer though, shaking the rock William perched on, and William jumped away, annoyed that his evening had been interrupted. He landed in the water with a soft plop, and with just his eyes above the surface watched the horse and its rider. He wouldn't normally care, but the horse had come close enough to spark his curiosity. In a way, it was nice to have something new.

The rider dismounted, his brown leather boot splashing in the water. He stood for a minute or so, shifting something on the saddle, grunting a bit when he hoisted it up onto his shoulders. It was too high up for William to properly see what it was, and he swam along with the traveler as he walked along the lakeshore, laying down his burden a few paces from the horse.

William swam closer to the shore, his belly brushing pebbles. All he could see was a lot of cream-colored fabric, folding layers on layers. It was curious, he thought, for a trader to put his merchandise in the mud.

The man bent near the pile of fabric and began to snap his fingers over the far side of it where William couldn't see properly. "Come now," the man said. "It's time to wake up." At first William felt confused, but then the pile of fabric began to stir and he heard a low groan emanate from its depths. He felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he realized he'd made the same mistake again and mistook something because of its size, and then another sick feeling as the pile of fabric sat up and he saw that it was a woman.

The man grabbed her arm to drag her up, but she kicked against him, striking him in the kneecap. He gasped and let go of her, and she scrambled against the pebbles on the shore, but before she could get her footing the man slapped her across her face, knocking her back down. For the first time William noticed that the girl was gagged, and her scream came out muffled and choked.

The girl sat up, her tangled blonde hair falling over her face as she moved her hands to her cheek. An angry red patch was growing there. William could now see her hands were bound together as well.

The man spat on her. "Filthy little bitch!" he shouted, and limped over to his horse. She stood slowly, her balance hindered by her bound hands, her eyes wide and fixed on the man. "I gave you a choice, you know," he said as he leaned against his horse and massaged his knee. "It doesn't have to be this way. You only have to say yes." He walked over to her and she stood straight, looking into his eyes hatefully. He circled around behind her, his fingers lightly touching her hair. He came in front of her again, inches from her face, bringing his hand up her neck and to her cheek. She leaned away from him, but he held her arm with his other hand. He slipped a finger underneath her gag, smiling to himself as it caught on her lower lip as he removed it.

She spat into his face. "Fine, then," he said, grimacing as he wiped the saliva away with his sleeve. He looked her up and down and seemed to hesitate for a moment before he said, "choose death."

For a split second her eyes widened and she began to step backwards, but he grabbed her hair and dragged her. She screamed and kicked, but she couldn't free herself and the horse began to shift, uneasy. Plunging his hand into the saddlebag, the man fished around for a moment before pulling out a bottle filled with lavender liquid.

"Fortunately for you," began the man, "I find murder distasteful. It is so messy, and so easy to solve. No, for what I want, murder would never do." The girl stared at him, fearful and confused. "You, my dear, might as well be dead. No one will know where you are, and there will be no way to contact them. You will live out your life hopeless and alone, and if you _do _die, no one will ever be able to tell it was you."

"I'd rather die than be your puppet," said the girl.

"Oh, but that's just the thing, the man said. "I don't care about your help anymore. You see, it doesn't matter if you live or die. Either way, I still get what I want. So stop whining about it."

With that the man quickly uncorked the bottle and forced the girls head back, prying open her mouth with his fingers. The girl struggled to keep her mouth shut and to escape, but the man was too strong for her. William began to panic. He knew whatever was in the bottle was magic, it was almost as if he could smell it. And he couldn't let anyone be cursed. Not like him.

William didn't even think about how he was a frog. He felt a burning anger that he hadn't felt so strongly for years, and he could see himself on his last day of being human and for the first time in a long time he wanted that back. He scrambled over the rocks toward the man and the girl, who was lying on the shore trying to pull the man's hands away from her face. William leapt up and onto the man's hand that was clutching the vial, and the man started in surprise, throwing William into the air. For a moment, the man's eyes followed William as he sailed through the air, but the girl bit his hand while he was distracted and brought his attention quickly back to her. He howled in pain but took advantage of her open mouth, forcing her lips open even as her teeth drew blood from his fingers, and poured the liquid down her throat.

William had hit his head against a pebble and lay dazed for a few moments, watching the scene without reacting. The girl lay doubled over, coughing, a trickle of purple liquid dripping down her chin. She half-crawled, half-dragged herself to the lakeside and gulped mouthfuls of water.

William slowly righted himself and looked for the man. He found him by his horse, wrapping his swollen fingers in a strip of fabric. He was livid, staring at her with wide-eyed anger, but did not approach her. The girl's cough subsided, and she slowly turned to look at him. "Haven't you done enough here?" she whispered hoarsely. Whatever was in the bottle had burned her throat. "Either kill me or leave me. I don't care. Just never let me see you again."

The man watched her coldly, cradling his injured fingers in his other hand. "I will leave you," he began, "but you should know this. You won't be able to leave the lake shores. You're here forever, girl. Remember that. And if I'm correct, the dawn should bring you a bit of a surprise. But never mind that. I'll leave now. And take comfort in the fact that I'll be the last human you speak to."

The man mounted his horse and began to gallop away. The girl stood suddenly and sprinted after him, beginning to shout something, but before she went far from the shore she fell backwards as though she had run into a wall. She stood and pushed against the invisible force, pounding on it and kicking it. She shouted until she could no longer hear hoof beats and she lost her voice, but she could not leave the lake.

The girl wandered all night around the lake, one hand always pressing against the invisible barrier. William climbed onto his favorite rock and watched her from a distance. He would have ignored her if she had been anyone else, but she was cursed, like him. William was fascinated. He'd never met someone else who was cursed before, even if she was only trapped by the lake.

But William remembered the screaming girls from the village and thought that even if this girl would grow used to living among frogs and fish, a talking frog would only frighten her. Besides, he reasoned, there was no way she would be at the lake forever. Travelers passed by often, and the girl would be sure to explain her situation and somehow someone would help her. Her curse would be broken and she'd leave, forever. So he remained silent, thinking she would be gone in under a month.

So… what'd you think? Let me know and maybe I'll write more… if I pass my exams first that is.


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